Armin Arlert x Reader: Promises Over Tea
by MelodiousAlchemist
Summary: Her and Armin Arlert have been close friends for a long time. When she gets her hands on something special, it may be more than just playful words that are exchanged. Rated T to be safe.


"Come now, (**Name**). You simply must tell me where on earth you're taking me at such an hour…" She looked to her right, seeing the blonde-haired boy staring at her with tired eyes. "You'll see, Armin. I promise," she replied, gently grabbing his hand and leading him down the street. The time was approximately around ten-thirty, and Armin was usually asleep at this hour. How did she know this? Her and Armin had been a paired 'couple' per say during training days before the two had graduated.

So, seeing as how she spent most of her days and nights with him, it was only natural that she knew a lot about the boy. Well, she couldn't really call him a boy anymore. He was eighteen now, after all. She was nineteen, only a year older than him, and ever since what had happened with the Female Titan, she was there to comfort him and be by his side. Granted, things were calm for now. But, she knew that she had to spend as much time with him as possible before, God forbid, something terrible happened to either one of them.

She led him to a small house, one that had been partially destroyed when the Colossal Titan had broken down Wall Rose. "Come inside with me, Armin," she said, pushing open the door with little to no effort. The both of them made their way inside, and Armin glanced around. "(**Name**), I really don't think we should be here at this hour… we could get into trouble. Plus, I'm extremely tired…" Armin said, his eyes nearly fluttering shut as he leaned back against the cracked wall.

"Oh come on, you can stay awake. Here…" she replied, walking over to a small crack in the wall. She pulled out a stone, several bags falling onto the floor. This was what got Armin's attention. "(**N-Name**)… what are those?" he stammered, his eyes widening. She glanced at him over her shoulder, giving him a small smile. "Oh, stop being such a worry-wart, Armin. It's just some bags of tea," she replied, taking two small rocks from behind a crushed pile of wood.

She cracked them together a few times, several sparks flying onto the pile of wood from which she had taken the rocks. She knelt down, gently blowing on the wood until a small flame appeared. "(**N-Name**)! Come on…! You'll burn the house down!" Armin exclaimed, frantically making his way beside her. She looked over at him, and he noticed that a hole had been dug around the pile of wood. "O-oh… ugh… I-I'm sorry, (**Name**)…" he stammered, his face turning pink from embarrassment.

She smiled softly, gently nudging her shoulder against his own. "Don't worry, Armin. It's okay. Do me a favor and get me that little pot thingie over there?" she asked, pointing to a shining, silver cooking pot. Armin gave a small nod, rising to his feet and bringing it back over to her. She reached into the hole from where the packets of tea had fallen, and pulled out a small canister filled with liquid. "Geez, how deep is that hole, (**Name**)?" he asked as he attempted to peer into it.

She put her hand over her mouth, attempting to stifle her laughter as she poured the liquid into the pot. "What is it? What's so-" He stopped, realizing why she was laughing. "(**N-Name**)! Y-you know I didn't mean it like that!" he exclaimed, his face flushing bright pink. She laughed for a moment, gently nuzzling his cheek with her head. "Calm down, Armin… I'm only teasing…" she replied softly. He looked down at her, a very small, soft smile forming on his lips.

They both sat around the fire, listening to it crackle every now and then. The tea packets were inside the water, which had now turned a medium brown color, and she sighed softly. "Armin…" He turned to look at her, her face lit gently by the glow of the fire. "Can I tell you a story?" He tilted his head, his blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze that came through the wrecked house. "Sure, (**Name**)… I wouldn't mind," he replied quietly.

"Well, once upon a time, there was a young girl. She grew up inside a cage where people could see the cage itself, but they could never see her. She stayed in there every day of her life, starving, cold, and most importantly, alone. She always wondered why no one answered her when she spoke, or why no one waved back when she waved at them. She would try so hard to get people to see her, but every day she failed. So, one day, she gave up. She stayed still, her knees pulled against her body, her head buried in her arms. When night finally came, she heard someone walk in front of the cage. She looked up, only to see a young boy staring at 'her.' He tilted his head, and she just looked back down, thinking he, like all the others, would just walk away. But then he did something no one else had ever done. He opened the cage door and reached his hand inside, as if wanting her to grab ahold of it. She stared at it for a moment, and then slowly placed her weak, frail hand into his own. He pulled her from that cage, and saved her from eternal loneliness."

Armin stared at her, her knees now pulled against her chest, her eyes half-lidded, and her chin resting on her arms. "Do you know who the girl and boy are, Armin?" she asked, staring into the fire. Armin thought for a moment, and then noticed that she was looking at him. "The girl is me, Armin… the boy… is you…" Armin's eyes widened, and he stared at her, his mind unable to think of what to say in reply to her. "Armin… you saved me from myself. I don't know if I would have ever been the person that I am today without you. You helped free me from my cage, the cage that was-"

She was stopped only by the feeling of warm lips being pressed against her own. She felt her cheeks flush bright red, her eyes fluttering shut as her arms instinctively wrapped themselves around Armin's body. She felt Armin's arms do the same, and he pulled her closer to his being. This continued for a moment more, and then the two of them slowly pulled away from each other.

"(**N-Name**)… is it wrong of me to say that I love you?" Armin asked in a near whisper, his fingers gently playing with a lock of her (**color**) hair. She looked at him, quite surprised that he was being so forward with what he was saying, especially since he was normally so shy about things. "N-no… it's not wrong, Armin…" she replied, her (**color**) eyes staring straight back into his bright blue ones. He gave her a soft smile, leaning his head in to gently place a kiss upon her cheek.

She sat, unmoving, her cheeks tinted pink. "Well, I do believe this tea is about done," Armin said, removing the pot from the fire. She shook her head, managing to free herself from her daze. "O-oh! Yeah… thanks, Armin…" she replied as she began to help him with the tea. The two of them soon had a cup of their own tea in their hands, the fire slowly dying in front of them. Armin glanced over at her, scooting a bit closer to her so that his shoulder was pressed gently against hers.

She sighed softly, her head coming to rest gently on his shoulder. And, for a moment, everything was perfect. Neither of them cared about the hell they were living in, she didn't care about what she had been through or what could happen to either of them. All that mattered was that the two of them were together, and that's how it should always be. She moved her cup up to her lips, taking a small sip of her warm tea. "Armin…" He glanced down at her, seeing her eyes droopy and clouded with need for sleep.

"Promise me that you'll always be there for me…" He sighed quietly, and then kissed the top of her head. "I promise, (**Name**). Now… can you promise me?" She struggled to keep her eyes open, and nodded slowly. "Y-yes… I promise… Armin…" With those words, her eyes fluttered shut, and she drifted off to sleep. Armin took her cup from her hands, placing both his and her own on the ground away from the two of them. He then laid down, pulling her gently onto the floor in front of him.

The ground was rather cold and uncomfortable, but Armin didn't mind at all. He laid her head on his chest to keep her comfortable, and placed one final kiss upon her cheek. "Goodnight, my butterfly…" he said softly, wrapping his arms around her and closing his eyes, drifting off into a sleep of his very own.

She awoke to the sound of footsteps entering the house, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. Everything was blurry, but she heard familiar voices talking and saw blurry human looking figures. She yawned, rubbing her eyes to rid them of their blurriness, and then looked back at who was now invading the house she and Armin had fallen asleep in. There, in the doorway, was Eren Jaeger, Mikasa Ackerman, Jean Kirschtein, and Sasha Braus.

Her cheeks flushed bright red as she realized she was still in Armin's arms, and she quickly sat up. Armin awoke to her sudden movement, and stared at the four soldiers who were staring back at the two of them. "Well, well, well, Armin. I had no idea you liked little (**Name**)!" Eren exclaimed, his eyes bright and a smile on his face. "You didn't? I totally did! I knew they liked each other from the beginning!" Jean added with a smug grin. "Don't say things you know are false, Jean." Mikasa said quietly.

"You guys! You jerks!" Sasha whined as she examined the cups Armin had placed away from them before he had fallen asleep last night. "You had tea without me?! You know how hard that is to find!" she exclaimed, literally on the verge of tears. Armin sighed deeply, his cheeks red. "Alright, alright… you caught us. Yeah, I like (**Name**)…" he said, almost inaudibly. Jean scoffed, a grin spread across his lips. "Well, damn. And I was just about to make my move on her…"

Armin glared at him, and scowled. "Jean, I'm normally not very serious about your playfulness, but if you dare touch her, or you dare try to take her away from me… you'll end up dangling over that wall by the collar of your shirt…" Everyone stared at him, and then he blinked, as if realizing what he had just said. "I-I'm sorry, Jean… I don't know why I would ever say something like that… I'm sorry…" he said, burying his face in his hands. "Oh, come on, Armin… it's okay… don't freak out…" Jean replied quickly, trying to keep Armin from breaking down on everyone.

Armin sighed deeply, rising to his feet and taking her with him. "Sorry again, Jean… come on, (**Name**)," he said as he turned and smiled at her. She nodded, gently laying her head on his shoulder as the two of them walked out of the house. Everyone stared at the two of them as they walked away, well, everyone except Sasha who was feebly attempting to collect whatever tea remained from the pot. "Hmm…" Jean muttered out loud.

Eren looked over at him, his eyebrow raised. "What is it?" he asked. Jean tapped his forefinger on his chin, a small smile creeping across his lips. "Oh nothing. Just wondering what Armin and (**Name**) did here last night…" "Um, it's obvious. They had tea," Eren replied, scoffing quietly. Jean grinned. "Oh, and do you think that's all (**Name**) had last night?" he replied quietly. Eren's cheeks turned bright red, and he glared at him.

"**_S-shut up! I don't want to think about my best friend doing that!" "You can't deny it, Eren! Everyone does it eventually!" "Yeah? Well not you, horseface!" "H-hey! That was uncalled for_**!"


End file.
